Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan ruled Friday that former President Donald Trump’s sentencing in his business records case will be delayed until after November’s election.
Merchan oversaw Trump’s criminal case in which he was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records regarding payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels by then Trump attorney Michael Cohen prior to the 2016 general election.
The sentencing hearing was originally set for July 11 following the May conviction, but had been delayed to Sept. 18, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on July 1 that presidents have partial immunity for official acts taken while in office.
Trump’s attorneys had requested a further delay until after the election, given that a subsequent ruling in the presidential immunity case is due on Sept. 16, which they may need to appeal.
“A single business day is an unreasonably short period of time” for such an appeal, Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove argued in an Aug. 14 filing. “There is no basis for continuing to rush,” NBC News reported.
Prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office told Merchan they would “defer to the Court on whether an adjournment is warranted to allow for orderly appellate litigation,” but “would be prepared to appear for sentencing on any future date the Court sets.”
Merchan responded in a letter Friday to Blanche and Manhattan Assistant D.A. Matthew Colangelo first acknowledging the case “is one that stands alone, in a unique place in this Nation’s history.”
“The public’s confidence in the integrity of our judicial system demands a sentencing hearing that is entirely focused on the verdict of the jury and the weighing of aggravating and mitigating factors free from distraction or distortion,” he wrote.
“Unfortunately, we are now at a place in time that is fraught with complexities rendering the requirements of a sentencing hearing, should one be necessary, difficult to execute,” the judge added.
Will Judge Merchan sentence Trump to prison?
Yes: 20% (1 Votes)
No: 80% (4 Votes)
Merchan ruled, “[T]he imposition of sentence will be adjourned to avoid any appearance – however unwarranted-that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching Presidential election in which the Defendant is a candidate.”
He concluded his letter, “This is not a decision this Court makes lightly but it is the decision which in this Court’s view, best advances the interests of justice.”
Merchan stated in his final order, “the sentencing in this matter, if necessary, is adjourned to November 26, 2024.”
Trump picked up on the words “if necessary.”
The former president wrote on a Truth Social post, “I greatly appreciate the words ‘if necessary’ being utilized in the Decision, because there should be no ‘if necessary’ – This case should be rightfully terminated, as we prepare for the Most Important Election in the History of our Country.”
Concerning the conviction overall, Trump wrote, “The Manhattan D.A. Witch Hunt has been postponed because everyone realizes that there was NO CASE, I DID NOTHING WRONG! It is a political attack against me by Comrade Kamala Harris and other Radical Left Opponents for purposes of Election Interference, and is a case that should have never been brought.
“Nothing like this has ever happened in the United States of America – IT IS STRICTLY THIRD WORLD, BANANA REPUBLIC ‘STUFF.’”
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